With a quarter to play against Adelaide, the Eagles were staring at a 0-2 start to season 1994 as they sat 20 points behind the 1993 preliminary finalists. 30 minutes later the Eagles had restored parity to their season with a seven goal to one final term, on the back of an inspired Brett Heady.
Heady booted four last quarter goals – to finish with a match haul of five – after a week spent bed-ridden. Heady had kept his illness secret from the club, much to the chagrin of coach Mick Malthouse, but proved to be the saviour in the final quarter surge.
“He (Heady) didn’t tell me before the game,” Malthouse confirmed. “In the end it was just a matter of getting him across the line.”
Heady was barely sighted in the opening three quarters, tallying just three possessions in between large stints on the bench. However, he exploded in the final term, gathering 10 kicks and three marks as West Coast rode home on a favourable breeze.
After a dire first three quarters, where the defensive nature of the home team had seen the game stagnate for large portions, the Eagles burst the game open with Heady capitalising on a centre square dominance.
Chris Lewis was moved into the middle after lacking any influence across half-forward, while Ryan Turnbull got on top of Shaun Rehn in the ruck, after he replaced Paul Harding who limped off during the third term with a hip injury.
But it was another moment in the third quarter that proved the turning point in the game.
At the 15 minute mark, Adelaide full-forward Tony Modra charged out on a lead, only to be met by West Coast captain John Worsfold running back the other way. The star full-forward – who had booted a Round 1 AFL record 13 goals the week before in the Crows demolition of Carlton – staggered off the ground, enraging Crows coach Graham Cornes.
Cornes pointedly abused Worsfold at the three quarter time break, with Malthouse suggesting the tirade may have sparked his players to the final quarter comeback. “I don’t know exactly what took place – you’ll have to find out from Graham Cornes.”
“The inference was that John thought what was said to him was uncalled for. Under those circumstances obviously he was going to be cranked up. I suppose he would have sparked a few of the other players up.”
The Eagles final quarter was a stark improvement on the rest of the game, which had been a tactical battle for much of the afternoon. The Eagles held a slender lead at the first change, before the Crows worked their way in front at the main break.
West Coast were able to restrict the Crows running game for much of the first half, leading to long periods of stagnated play from both sides, but the visitors took hold in the third quarter. Tony McGuinness marshalled the centre square and Simon Tregenza got the better of Peter Matera on the wing, as Adelaide controlled the ball inside their forward half.
However, they could only manage an inaccurate 3.7 for the term, and their system fell away once Modra left the field.
A deflated Cornes wouldn’t be drawn on the controversy surrounding his interaction with Worsfold, instead choosing to lament his sides’ inability to hold onto their lead.
“It’s a four-quarter game and 20 points is never a match-winning lead, particularly against a team playing at home and coming home with a slight breeze.”
Tony McGuiness was one of the few Adelaide players who performed all day, finishing with 27 disposals, while Mark Bickley shaded fellow centreman Dean Kemp in racking up 30. Paul Rouvray restricted Sumich to just two goals while Rodney Maynard – who was a late inclusion for Greg Anderson – was serviceable with 17 disposals and a goal.
However, the Crows forwards were well beaten by another strong defensive performance from West Coast. Ashley McIntosh held Modra to just one goal before he went off injured, while Glen Jakovich completely shut out Nigel Smart at centre half forward. David Hart made it two scalps in as many weeks when he kept Matthew Liptak goalless, while Guy McKenna shaded Tony Hall in an intriguing contest.
Jakovich would finish as the Eagles’ highest possession winner (20, along with 14 marks) indicating how much the Eagles built their play from half-back, while Dean Kemp (19) and Peter Matera (17) the next best for West Coast.
The Eagles sat with nine other teams who had split their opening two games, but with fixtures to come against Richmond, Fitzroy and Hawthorn, they sat perfectly to stake an early claim for a top four spot.
sportsphrase.blog 